Former Ako-Bicol representative Zaldy Co, who is facing graft and malversation charges over an anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro, is now in France.
In a press conference on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said Co, who was intercepted in the Czech Republic, was transferred to France where he is seeking political asylum.
“The DFA has received highly reliable information that Zaldy Co has a pending petition for political asylum in France. He has been requested to be transferred to and is now under the jurisdiction of French authorities,” she said.
“All missions in Europe have been instructed to obtain further official confirmation. The government’s position remains firm: we will work with foreign governments through every legal channel available under international laws to bring Zaldy Co home and face the graft and malversation cases filed against him. We will do everything in accordance with the law and diplomatic processes,” she added.
Castro clarified that Co is not detained in France, as he can roam around freely pending the decision on his asylum petition.
Co was reportedly arrested in Prague on April 16 after allegedly entering the country without proper documentation.
Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida, who went to the Czech Republic hoping to bring Co home, said the former lawmaker is no longer under the custody of Czech authorities.
Castro said that while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was disappointed over Co’s release, he acknowledged that there is no one to blame.
“He did not see anyone to blame because all the officials involved worked properly to determine what happened and the condition of Zaldy Co at that time,” she said.
Amid criticisms, Castro said Malacañang does not see the need for Marcos to apologize over the failure to bring back Co.
“We all held on to hope. Everything that needed to be done was carried out by the President and the administration, and what he reported was accurate. So we do not see anything that can be considered a mistake by the President, because he did not neglect this,” she added.
Castro said Marcos will meet with the ambassadors of the Czech Republic and France in the country on Wednesday, April 29, 2025, to discuss the matter.
She clarified, however, that the President has no intention to influence the decision of the French government on Co’s asylum petition.
“If there were any lapses or anything that was not done, we need to clarify that. What more should be done, and what assistance can other countries provide — especially since we are part of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. The case faced by Zaldy Co concerns malversation, so the President will look into what else could have been done. But based on his understanding, everything that needed to be done had already been carried out,” she said.
